A Death in Duck: Lindsay Harding Cozy Mystery Series (Reverend Lindsay Harding Mystery Book 2) (19 page)

Chapter 20

When Lindsay arrived at the Duck Diner for breakfast, Rob and his mother were already waiting inside. Since Lindsay was now living out of her car, she’d had to modify her normal morning grooming routine—she’d used baby wipes in place of taking a shower, and she had chewed gum instead of brushing her teeth. Awkwardly kneeling over the center console, she’d managed to open her backpack and change into an acceptably demure outfit of black slacks and a mint green sweater set. Like all her other clothes, however, the outfit was accordioned with wrinkles and adorned with dog hair. Lindsay knew that she neither looked nor smelled like a top-notch daughter-in-law prospect. But she also knew that it’d been a hell of a week, and Rob was going to have to take his “wife” for better or for worse.

She rummaged through her stuff until she found a rawhide bone that she’d picked up in town a few days before. She handed it to Kipper and poured some water from her jogging canteen into his bowl. She crossed her fingers that he’d stay quiet in the car. The meeting with Rob’s mother was already off to a rocky start, and having Kipper go ballistic within sight of the restaurant was unlikely to help matters.

Hat She took a deep breath and pushed the restaurant door open. As usual, Rob was neat as a pin—hair freshly cut, clean-shaven, pressed shirt. He looked like an ad for soap. When Rob saw her, his face broke open into a wide grin. “Lindsay! I’ve missed you so much this week!” He rushed over and took her in his arms. “Do you think I need to kiss you?” He whispered as he hugged her. “I hadn’t really thought that far.”

“We probably should,” Lindsay said quickly. “It would be the natural thing to kiss each other after a long absence.”

He pulled back and held her hands in his, still smiling through gritted teeth. “I’m not sure I can. You don’t smell the best.”

Lindsay returned his rictus smile. “Well, if it makes you feel better, the thought of kissing you just made me throw up in my mouth a little,” she said.

In the end, they opted for a second hug. Rob led her by the hand to the table where his mother sat. The elderly woman rose slowly to greet her. Her kind smile revealed a row of small, stained teeth. Mei-ling Lin looked much as Lindsay had remembered from their first and only meeting more than a decade before. She was short and slightly pot-bellied, with a wide, flat face, and a wide, flat bottom. She had thin arms and no neck to speak of—all in all, she had the body of a slightly squashed snowman. Like most Chinese and Taiwanese women, she had kept her maiden name after marriage.

Mrs. Lin sat back down and patted the seat next to her. She turned to Rob and reeled off a rapid-fire salvo in Taiwanese Hokkien.

Rob translated. “She says you’re not bad looking for a white girl. She’s glad you’re not fat like all the other Americans.”

Lindsay sighed. “Why can’t anybody ever just say that I look nice without also insulting me?”

“It sounds better in Taiwanese. Besides, that’s a huge complement from her. Any time a Western woman comes on TV, she always thinks they’re men.”

They placed their breakfast orders, and continued their strange, triangular conversation. Lindsay understood no Taiwanese, but she noted with amusement that Rob’s mother referred to him by his real name—Obadiah. As far as she knew, only she and John were aware that Rob had been named after the Biblical prophet.

“What did you say to her about why I wasn’t at the hotel?” Lindsay asked.

“I told her that your aunt died recently, and you didn’t feel it was appropriate to attend a wedding celebration so soon after her death. You wanted to help your friend, but you also needed to mourn properly. She loved that. Respect for elders scores major points with Chinese mothers.”

Mrs. Lin took Lindsay’s hand again. She made a concerned face and said something to Rob. Rob translated, “She wants to know how your cervix is.”

Lindsay smiled at Mrs. Lin and then turned to face Rob. “The cervix thing was your idea,” she said to him, trying to maintain her best sugar-soaked tone. “Since you’re the expert on my cervix, why don’t you answer her?”

Rob began what sounded like a complex explanation, using expressive, dramatic hand gestures. If Lindsay hadn’t known the topic of their conversation, she would’ve thought he was miming one of the battle scenes from
Apocalypse Now
.

Mrs. Lin seemed to accept the answer. She nodded gravely and made a series of long “oh” sounds.

“I don’t even want to know what you just told her,” Lindsay said.

Rob smiled and nodded. “No, you really don’t. I’m not sure I’m going to be able to eat my pancakes now.”

Somehow, they managed to sustain the conversation through breakfast. There were a few rough moments, but eventually they found safe ground talking about the fact that Lindsay’s father was a well-known minister. Mrs. Lin’s father-in-law had also been a pastor, and had been one of the earliest, most vocal proponents of Christianity in Taiwan. She had met her late husband at his church. Things were going well enough that after they finished their meal, Rob suggested that they all visit the Currituck Beach Lighthouse in Corolla.

As they walked out to Rob’s car, they passed within a few feet of Lindsay’s Honda. Kipper barked wildly, lunging and pressing his face against the windows.

“Um, Lindsay, why do you have a mountain lion in your car?”

“Oh, him. There’s been so much else going on that I forgot to tell you. My mom stole Warren’s sister’s dog,” Lindsay said.

“Can I just gently point out that there may be some truth in what Anna’s mother said about you being a drama magnet?” Rob said.

“Tell me about it. Anyway, now that my mom’s locked up, I’m stuck with him until I can return him. Don’t worry, he’ll be okay in there for a little while.”

“It wasn’t really him I was worried about. Are you sure that he can’t get out of there? He looks like he knows how to pick a lock.” Rob looked nervously at his mother, but she seemed not to notice the commotion.

They drove to the lighthouse in Rob’s car. Even though Lindsay had been to the site many times—it was one of the few places of interest she could walk to as a child—it had only opened to the public in the mid-1990’s, after she had already returned to Mount Moriah. Rob had intended that they merely walk around the grounds, but Mrs. Lin was insistent that they should climb to the top.

They bought their tickets, and began the long ascent up the green metal stairs that spiraled around the inner walls of the lighthouse.

“Anna keeps calling me,” Rob said to Lindsay as they climbed. “I wonder what she wants.”

“You haven’t talked to her yet?” Lindsay replied.

“I’m not speaking to her,” he said. “We’re mad at her.”

Lindsay smiled at Rob’s loyalty. “That’s sweet, Rob. But maybe you should call her. She’s surrounded by hostile forces back there, and I can’t even imagine what happened between her and Drew or her and her mother after I left.”

“I don’t get how you can have any sympathy for her. If she did that to me, she’d be dead to me. For sure.”

“You wouldn’t really give up on a friendship that quickly, would you?”

“A friendship? Sure, I would. That’s why I went to the trouble of marrying you. So no man can put us asunder.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Lindsay said, helping Mrs. Lin up the last few stairs. “But if you ever do anything like this to me again, I’ll put you asunder so fast that your head will spin.”

When they emerged onto the circular top deck, the day had turned clear and bright, and initially they were all blinded by the sun. Once their eyes adjusted, however, they were dazzled by the spectacular view.

“Anna’s calling again,” Rob said, holding up his phone. The wind blew steadily, and they struggled to hear each other over the gusts.

“Talk to her,” Lindsay said. “It’s okay.”

Rob stepped back inside the lighthouse to take the call. Lindsay and Mrs. Lin smiled at each other, and each gave a little shrug. They stepped out to the iron railing and fixed their eyes on the vista before them. Although the red brick Currituck Lighthouse was less famous than its black-and-white painted counterparts at Hatteras and Nags Head, it afforded more than a dozen miles’ worth of views out over the meticulously landscaped gardens of the old Whalehead Hunt Club and the roaring expanse of the Atlantic Ocean beyond. Through the leaf-bare winter trees, Lindsay could even make out Simmy’s cheerful rosy pink house, with her truck parked out front.

At first, it seemed that the two of them were alone at the top; however, as they rounded the tower to take in the westerly view of the Currituck Sound, they saw that another visitor was also enjoying the outlook.

There was a long list of people Lindsay would’ve preferred not to see in that moment: her mother, Anna, Anna’s mother, Warren, Warren’s sister, any member of the Duck Police Department. But right near the top of the list was the person who stood before her, festooned with cumbersome-looking camera gear—Mike Checkoway. She groaned inwardly. She hadn’t yet had time to process the events of the previous night, and hadn’t anticipated having to face him again so soon.

“Oh, wow!” Mike exclaimed, as cheerfully oblivious as ever. The noise of the wind was so loud that he practically had to shout to be heard. “This must be fate. I’m so glad I ran into you because I wanted to apologize again for what happened.”

He extended his hand to Mrs. Lin. “Hi, I’m Mike Checkoway,” he said. A camera with an enormous lens swung from his neck like a wrecking ball. Because Mike was at least a foot taller than Mrs. Lin, each time he spoke, the dangling lens came within inches of bashing her in the face. A camera bag was slung over Mike’s shoulder, another was on his back, and in his left hand, he held a tripod. “Lindsay probably told you that I’m the jerk she got in trouble for kissing.” He shook his head and rolled his eyes.

Mrs. Lin edged warily backwards. “Kis-sing?” She repeated, frown lines creasing her forehead. She seemed unsure if she had understood the English word correctly.

Lindsay put out a hand to steady Mrs. Lin. “Mike, this is Mei-ling Lin. She’s my friend Rob’s mother. She’s visiting from Taiwan. She doesn’t speak much English,” Lindsay shouted into the wind.

“Taiwan?” Mike said, addressing Mrs. Lin. “What a great country. My son and I went hiking on Yushan, you know, Jade Mountain? A few months ago. I got into it up near the summit with some German backpackers—total know-nothing club kids. They weren’t packing out their excrement.” Seeing Mrs. Lin’s blank expression, he tried again. “Poo? You’ve gotta take it back down with you, or the whole mountain would just be covered. Not cool at all. But, yeah, anyway, Yushan was amazing. Have you ever been?”

“Poo?” Mrs. Lin’s alarmed eyes scanned the platform for her son.

“So, you’re up here on your own?” Lindsay asked, trying to move the conversation onto safer, more sanitary ground.

“No. Well, yes, right now. But Owen’ll be back in a second. He just had to run to the car to get more equipment.”

“You don’t have enough equipment?” Lindsay asked, raising an eyebrow.

Mike shrugged. “We didn’t expect it to be this bright up here, so we needed a different lens. I’m really glad you’re still speaking to me. I didn’t know if you’d be mad. I couldn’t believe it when I heard what happened. Drew and Anna had a pretty big fight, too. I feel terrible.”

“I know you didn’t mean for all that to happen.”

He smiled, but his eyes looked forlorn. “I can’t believe I blew my chance with you. You’re the first girl I’ve so much as looked twice at since Jocelyn died.”

Lindsay opened her mouth to say…well, she wasn’t sure what. Maybe that she agreed that he’d blown his chance? Or that actually, she was a little mad at him? After all, if he hadn’t been so impulsive, they could all have avoided a lot of trouble. Or perhaps that, despite everything, she liked the kiss? That she liked
him
? That there was something about his graceless wit and total unreservedness that made her want to kiss him back? But surely nothing could be salvaged from such a beginning.

Before she had a chance to form any of these thoughts into words, Rob emerged from inside the lighthouse. Mrs. Lin rushed to his side and clung to him, as if she feared that Mike might lift her up and hurtle her over the railings.

Lindsay waved goodbye to Mike and followed Rob and his mother back inside. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Mrs. Lin toddled off to use the restroom. Rob turned to Lindsay. “My mom says that a crazy person who was covered in surveillance equipment accosted her and started yelling at her about poop?”

“Yeah, that was Drew’s brother.” Lindsay said. Mrs. Lin’s reaction helped her to put things into clearer perspective. Mike might be likable, but another crazy person was really the last thing she needed in her life right now.

“So, what did Anna have to say?” Lindsay asked.

“You were right. She’s kind of a mess. She was crying and saying how much help she needed. She’s under so much pressure, and she feels like things are falling apart.”

“Oh, no.” Lindsay shook her head sadly.

“She’s losing it. I mean, she even had the audacity to ask if I would stand up for her in the wedding.”

“What?!” Lindsay’s previous conciliatory tone had been entirely genuine. But Anna asking Rob to replace her in the wedding party was a different proposition.